


The Reunion

by minerva__mcgee



Series: Minerva McGonagall - One-Shots [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, End of Prisoner of Azkaban, Fresh out of Azkaban, Marauders, Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24367747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minerva__mcgee/pseuds/minerva__mcgee
Summary: Minerva goes to visit Sirius for the first time since he's escaped Azkaban.
Relationships: Sirius Black & Minerva McGonagall
Series: Minerva McGonagall - One-Shots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1758022
Comments: 2
Kudos: 52





	The Reunion

Minerva stood in front of the large, oak door and raised her fist to knock, before putting it back down next to her side without knocking. She repeated this a few more times before giving in and banging on the wood. 

There was no sound from inside the home for a moment, but eventually she heard scrambling and a pause, she presumed as they looked through the peephole, and the door swung open. A gust of wind blew back Sirius’ hair and exposed his sunken skin to the streetlights. He was framed by a dim light in the hallway, and he had shock written all over his features. They stared at each other, each not believing what they were seeing. 

Here was this boy - no, not a boy anymore, this _man_ that had caused her so much grief in school, though that never amounted to what he gave her on the fateful Halloween. His clothes hung loosely off of his body, and his collarbones were very prominent. Minerva could see what twelve years had done to him in Azkaban, and tears pricked at the back of her eyes. She blinked them back.

Here was this woman, who he had tormented at Hogwarts but cared for fiercely. She had aged much more than he had expected her to - her hair was still black but had speckles of grey, and her green eyes were swimming with pain, something that not just anyone could identify in Minerva McGonagall. Sirius swallowed a lump in his throat that formed at seeing what had happened to her, and that she would even think to take the time out of her day to come and see him after everything that had happened. But here she was, standing on his doorstep, not looking angry.

They stared at each other for a while, not wanting to scare the other away with sudden movements. Eventually, a smile broke out on Sirius’ face, and he said “You’re getting old, Minnie.”

She smiled and a tear slipped down her face as she shoved his shoulder playfully, before pulling him into a tight hug. He hesitated for the smallest moment, but reciprocated it. 

“I didn’t want to believe it, Sirius,” she explained over his shoulder, “I never did believe it. But I didn’t know what else to believe.”

“I know,” he reaffirmed to her, squeezing her tighter, “It’s okay. I don’t blame you. There was nothing you could have done.”

They finally pulled out of the hug, and she held him tightly on his upper arms. “Would you like some tea, Professor?”

She scoffed. “Please. You refused to call me Professor while you were in school. Don’t start now. Minerva is fine.”

He beamed at her, and she caught a flash of the Sirius she used to know behind the madness on the surface. Images of the young boy coming to her, surrounded by three of his friends: one, who was his partner in crime and had a brilliant boy that she had come to love just as much as he did her father. One who was pained, who didn’t believe he was deserved of his place in society, but was surrounded by love and mischief. One who was quieter than the rest, and not as skilled, but had betrayed those who it was thought he loved.

Minerva followed Sirius into the kitchen where he made tea for the two in silence. She took in the room, which had clearly just been cleaned but still felt empty. She wondered to herself if it would ever feel like a home again.

Sirius took his seat next to her, sitting at the head of the long table. She could see past him the Black family tapestry and the spot on it where he should’ve been burned. Tears pricked again at her eyes, but she squeezed the tea cup tighter and brought it to her lips, taking a long sip. 

“You still don’t like sugar in your tea,” Minerva commented, noticing the massive amounts of milk that he had put in. 

“You still don’t like milk in your tea,” he smirked.

They exchanged small smiles again before he set his cup down. 

“Minerva, not that I’m not completely grateful for you coming by, because I absolutely am, but why are you here?”

She had to think about that. Minerva had struggled to put into words why she wanted to see him, but realized that it couldn’t be said better than - 

“I was so worried about you. I had to make sure that you knew that I would always be here for you.” 

Sirius gave her that stupid grin that she had always associated with a prank that she hadn’t discovered yet. “Minerva McGonagall, worried about _moi?”_

She rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips twitched upward. “I can’t say enough how sorry I am that I didn’t fight harder for you.”

“It wasn’t your job to fight for me, Minerva. Especially not with what it looked like. Even I can admit that I looked guilty, and the rat ... well, I guess all of our animagus training came back to bite us in the arse.”

“I guess it did. Should’ve known when his form turned out to be a rat. _I_ should’ve known something wasn’t right with him.”

“You _knew?”_

Minerva scoffed. “Please, Sirius. When will you learn that I know all of the goings-on in Hogwarts? How many nights did you spend in detention with me where your breath reeked of Mandrake? It’s not exactly a subtle smell.”

“And James coming to you with all of those questions,” Sirius laughed, but it faded quickly at the mention of his fallen best friend. Any progress they had made at lightening the mood was stamped out. “I miss him so much.”

“I do, too,” Minerva admitted, “but, Sirius, Harry is just wonderful.”

“Is he?” he looked deep into her piercing green eyes. “I want so badly to know him, but I just don’t know if that’s possible.”

She saw his hand laying on the table next to his cup, and reached out to grab it. Their hands rested intertwined on the table and she gave it a squeeze, not letting go. “I’m sure he would love to know you. He needs you, almost as much as you need him. He’s bright, and one of the best seekers I’ve seen in all my years. He was fighting with the Malfoy boy during their first flying lesson, and Malfoy threw Neville Longbottom’s Rememberall across the field, and Harry got on his broom and caught it for Neville. On his first day of flying lessons! Nearly caused me to lose my mind, but he was brilliant. Lead the Gryffindor team ever since.”

Sirius smiled wide. “What else is he like?”

Minerva launched into just about every story she could think of about the young Gryffindor, from protecting the stone, to defeating the Basilisk, every Quidditch game she could recall, and his ability to create a full corporal Patronus. She talked about how fiercely brave he was, and he knew when was the right time to break the rules. 

She didn’t quite realize how sad Sirius was becoming until he was in tears, so she stopped talking and held his hand even tighter. He didn’t have to tell his professor how upset he was that he missed Harry growing up.

After a long silence, Sirius wiped his tears on his sleeve. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you came tonight.”

“I’m only an owl away, Sirius, if you ever need anything. And I want to get your fireplace hooked up to my office through the Floo Network.” She ran her thumb over the back of his hand, and silently vowed to protect him with everything in her. Conversation changed to more light-hearted subjects again, discussing the World Quidditch Cup that was coming up over the summer, what has changed in the Ministry since Sirius last knew it, and more talks of Harry and his adventures. 

It was well into the evening by the time Minerva decided to get back to Hogwarts. They had finished multiple cups of tea and were satisfied that they had caught up. As she walked out of the front door, Sirius just steps behind her, she turned around and pulled him into another hug. 

Sirius was definitely surprised by his usually stern professor’s expressions of emotion tonight, but did not hesitate on this hug. They held each other tightly, similar to that of a mother and son. 

She squeezed his arm one last time before turning away, changing into her animagus form before walking down the street far enough to apparate away without being seen. With one last glance to 12 Grimmauld Place and a popping noise, she was gone, both feeling much better than they had felt earlier in the evening.


End file.
